I know that there is a type of shrimp called amano shrimp that do a great job of keeping algae under control. At the one place I know how to get them they are like $3 each. Then I saw Ghost shrimp at another store for $0.25 each, and I am wondering, do they eat algae too? Are ghost shrimp a solution to algae control?

I haven't heard that ghost shrimp eat algae... They're primarilly used to feed fish... They are basically scavengers and will pick up anything on the bottom they can find... I don't think they eat algae though.

Ghost shrimp will eat algae, but it's not their primary or favorite food. Besides which, you'd need 50 of them, so no they are not really a solution to algae control.
If you keep good water and are carefull during water changes, otos are the best for a smallish tank.
good luck

Think of an aquarium as a fish space station (complete with over-engineering and massive budget over-runs), and YOU are the ground crew.

I have both in my tank, mostly because they are fun to watch. Ghost Shrimp can eat some sorts of algae, though they seem to only do it if there is not much else to eat. Amano Shrimp do a better job, though they really do not eat very much algae compared to a fish like an Oto, a Rosy Barb, or an American Flag Fish. They seem kind of expensive (for a shrimp), and can be pretty fragile compared to Ghost Shrimp. Out of the four I recently added, only had two made it, though there was an unfortunate CO2 spike the night they were introduced. They really do not like low Ph. That said, they look cooler than Ghost Shrimp to me, and it is great to see them picking away at bits of algae.

Amano shrimp (C. japonica) is the shrimp of choice when it comes to all purpose algae control. However, its hard to say whether or not the shrimp will do well in a fish tank... given a chance a fish (omnivores and carnivores) will try to eat the shrimp. Try a few ghost shrimp first, and if they survive, get your amanos. Shrimp are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.

thanks for the quick responses. I think I will try a few of the ghost shrimp to see how they do in my aquarium! I'll definately go for something else for algae control though. I've been hearing a lot about SAE lately. How much do they usually sell for in a pet store?

I would not keep a full grown SAE in less than a 30 gallon.
Ghost shrimp...........well I put them to the test.
They did not fair well at all.
They are neat etc, but the Amano shrimps earn their keep if you have enough. Amano shrimps will live/last longer than ghost shrimps also.

Ask the LFS for a bulk price rather than buying one or two at a time.
I was able to get 50 shrimps on special from the wholesaler for about 40$ with some free donated plants to the LFS and I picked up the whole bag as thwey got their fish shrimpment in as so they did not even have to count or bag them up. At worse, a 1.50 would be the max price they might charge.
I've pullled this tatict: "LFS so and so said they'd let me have a bag of 50 for 45$ if I pick them up and they don't dump in the tank. Will you match that price?" Or you can also say, I'm going to see what price so and so can offer me. that seems a bit high.
If they buy 100 at a time, the price is pretty good for the dealers.
Split the cost with local friends and divy them up.

I've ran across and number of shrimp algae eaters native to the USA, but no sources except myself going out and trying to net them.
Some are too small, they get eaten by most fish. Some don't like warm water etc.

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